Theme naming in the Sailor Moon franchise
A common practice in manga and anime, both Sailor Moon and its prototype, Codename: Sailor V, make extensive use of theme naming. Protagonist's names are mostly derived from figures of Greek and Roman mythology, while antagonists are usually named either after precious minerals. Several of the villains in Codename: Sailor V are also named after characters from Greek myths. Sailor Moon Protagonists Senshi *Usagi Tsukino's name, when read in traditional Japanese naming format (surname first, given name second), means "rabbit of the moon", relating to her Senshi identity as Sailor Moon and to a Japanese folklore tradition of rabbits making mochi on the moon. Her royal name, Princess/Neo Queen Serenity is a reference to the moon goddess of Greek mythology, Selene, whose Roman equivalent is Luna. Her Dic/Cloverway English dubbed name, Serena Tsukino, keeps this to some effect. *Ami Mizuno's name in Japanese can be read as "Asian beauty of water", in reference to the Japanese name for the planet Mercury, "Star of Water". The Roman god Mercury after which the planet is named is the god of financial gain, commerce and eloquence, explaining Ami's wealth, politeness and fondness for reading. Mercury was also the father of the god Jupiter. *Rei Hino's name can be translated as "Ray of fire", and the Japanese reading for her guardian planet Mars is "Star of Fire". The planet's moons, Phobos and Deimos are the names given to her pet crows. Another reading of her first name is "spirit", explaining her connection with such and her psychic abilities. The Roman god of war of the same name was the son of the deities Jupiter and Juno, and one of his many consorts was the goddess Venus. Her Dic/Cloverway English dubbed name is spelled "Raye Hino". *Makoto Kino's Senshi identity, Sailor Jupiter, is a reference to the Roman god of the sky and lightning, whose Greek counterpart is Zeus. The Japanese name for the planet Jupiter translates to "Star of Wood", thus relating to her surname Kino ("of wood") and her wood-based powers shown in her attack Jupiter Oak Evolution. Her Dic/Cloverway English dubbed name, "Lita Kino", is a reference to her dominate element of lightning. *Minako Aino's name is read as "Beautiful child of love", after Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and desire, which also plays a role in her boy-crazy personality. Her powers are also based on love. *Unlike her fellow Senshi, Chibiusa does not have any unique theme to her name, but is based solely off her her mother. Her nickname means "small rabbit", and her full name, Usagi Small Lady Serenity, is another reference to the moon godess. Her kitten Diana is the Roman equivalent of the goddess Artemis, the name given to her father. *Setsuna Meiou's surname means "dark king", a reference to the Greek ruler of the Underworld, Pluto. As Sailor Pluto, she states in the manga that she is the daughter of Chronos, the Greek god of time, thus relating to her powers of time manipulation. *Haruka Tenou's full name is read as "distant sky king" is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus, explaining her sky and wind-based powers. The god's theme was also shared with the Roman god Jupiter, and Makoto's fascination with Haruka in the original anime series could have hinted at that. An early name for the planet upon discovery was "Neptune", which may have had an impact on her lesbian relationship with Michiru Kaioh, Sailor Neptune. *Michiru Kaiou's name means "Rising ocean king", which, along with her sea-based powers, is a reference to the Roman god of the sea, Neptune, whose Greek equivilent is Poseidon. Neptune was also the brother of Jupiter and Pluto, Juno, Ceres and Vestas. *Hotaru Tomoe is the only Senshi whose name is not a reference to a Greek or Roman deity. Her name translates to "Firefly sprouting from Earth". Her identity as Sailor Saturn is a reference to the Roman god of the same name. His Greek equivalent is Chronus, the father of Sailor Pluto, and he is the father of the deities of Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, Ceres and Vestas. *Sailor Ceres is named after both an asteroid and the Roman goddess of agriculture. Her sisters, the other members of the Asteroid Senshi are named after asteroids previously labelled as planets. *Sailor Vesta's name is derived from the Roman goddess of the hearth, home and family. *Sailor Pallas's root name Pallas refers to several figures of Greco-Roman mythology, male and female alike. *Sailor Juno is named after the Roman goddess queen of marriage and childbirth. Other protagonists *Mamoru Chiba's name means "Protector of Earth", while his royal name Prince/King Endymion is derived from from the shepherd of Greek mythology and consort of Selene. *Helios is named after the Greek personification of the sun who was the brother of Selene. His residence, Elysion, is a reference to Elysium, the Ancient Greek concept of the afterlife. Villains Dark Kingdom Arc *Queen Beryl is named after the mineral beryl, made of beryllium aluminium cyclosilicate. *Jadeite is named after a variety of jade of the same name. Its Latin name, lapis nephriticus, also provided the name for another form of jade known as nephrite. *Nephrite is named after one of the two varieties of gemstone jade, nephrite, the other being jadeite. *Zoisite's name is derived from the mineral of the same name. Originally called saualpite, it was named after the Carniolan scientist Sigmund Zois. *Kunzite is named after a variety of spodumene. in the Dic English dub, his name is changed to Malachite, after a carbonite mineral, mostly due to the vulgar pronounciation of his original name. Black Moon Arc *Prince Demande's name is derived from the mineral diamond. His name is changed in the Dic English dub to Prince Diamond. *Saphir's name is a reference to the gemstone sapphire, and is known as Blue Saphir in the manga. His name is changed in the Dic English dub to Sapphire. *Esmeraude's name is named from the gemstone and beryl variety emerald. Her name is changed in the Dic English dub to Emerald. *While Rubeus' name could be seen as a derivision of the gemstone ruby, rubeus is also the Latin word for red, from which the ruby was named due to its color. *Koan's name is derived from the mineral kermesite, known in Japanese as Kooanku. *Berthier's name is a reference to the iron sulfide berthierite, which was named after the French chemist Pierre Berthier. *Calaveras is named after the metallic mineral calaverite, also known as gold telluride. *Petz is named after the telluride mineral of the same name. *The Boule Brothers' team name is based off of the crystal mineral boule. Death Busters *Kaolinite (civilian name Kaori) is named after the clay mineral kaolinite. *Eudial's name is based off the rare cilicate mineral eudialyte. *Mimete is named after a lead arsenate chloride mineral mimetite. *Viluy is named after an alternate name for the mineral wiluite, viluite. *Tellu's name is from the rare oxide mineral tellurite, which is made from tellurium dioxide. *Cyprine is named after a variety of vesuvianite. Her partner Ptilol is derived from the zeolite clinoptilolite. Dead Moon Circus *Queen Nehellenia's name is derived derived from Nehalennia, a goddess of unclear origin. *Both Zircon and Zirconia are named after the element zirconium. *Fish Eye's name is a reference to several types of gems. *Tiger's Eye is named after a chatoyant gemstone of the same name. *Hawk's Eye is named after a blue varient of tiger's eye. *Xenotime is named after a rare earth phosphate mineral, while Zeolite is named after a microporous aluminosilicate mineral. *The Amazoness Quartet members are all derived from the asteroids/Roman figures their Senshi forms are all named after. Their team name, as well as the Amazon Trio's and the Amazon Stones they possess are references to amazonite, a variety of microcline feldspar which is also known as amazon stone. Shadow Galactica *Sailor Galaxia's name is derived from the word galaxy. *The Sailor Animamates all have a theme of their names following a "Sailor variety animal" format. Sailor Aluminum Siren is named after a creature in Greek mythology, Sailor Tin Nyanko's name is derived for the Japanese onomotopoeia for a cat's meow, and Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon is named after the French word for butterfly. *Sailor Chi is named for the letter of the Greek alphabet of the same name, as is her partner Sailor Phi. *Sailor Lethe is named after one of the five rivers of Hades in Greek mythology. Her twin sister Sailor Mnemosyne is named after the Greek Titan and personification of memory of the same name. Mnemosyne also presided over a pool in Hades and was the counterpart of Lethe. *Sailor Chaos is named after a primordial void in Greek mythology. Codename: Sailor V *The first villain to appear in the manga, Higashi-semapi, true name Narcissus, is named after the hunter in Greek mythology of the same name. In mythology, Nemesis attracted him to a pool where he fell in love with his reflection, and Nemesis is the name given to the tenth planet of the Solar System as described in the Black Moon arc. *Pandora and Petite Pandora are both named after a character in Greek mythology, the first human woman created by the gods. *Fluorite is named after a mineral form of calcium fluoride of the same name, also known as fluorspar. *Hibiscusy is named after a hibiscus, a species of flower in the mallow family. *Founde and her clones, Liquid, Water, Powder and Solid Founde's names are based off of makeup foundation. *Nyan-Nyan and Wan-Wan are named after the Japanese onomotopoeias for a cat's meow and a dog's bark respectively. *Karaoke Warrior: Mike Makii is a reference to the abbreviated term for microphone. *Danburite is named after a silicate mineral of the same name. His previous incarnation Adonis is named after a Greek demigod. Category:Glossary Category:Manga Category:Anime Category:Codename: Sailor V